Iwatobi Fitness Club
by L. Monster
Summary: Fitness Club AU. Rin transfers from Australia and Haru's not so thrilled, at first. Basically, they're all trainers and loving it. Rated M for future chapters. RINxHARU
1. Iwatobi Fitness Club

In the end, there really was _nothing_ else he could have done with his life.

The day Haruka Nanase graduated high school was the happiest day of his life. He remembered standing by the school swimming pool, throwing away his tie and simply smiling at his reflection in the water. _Life was going to be wonderful after this_, he thought to himself. He would go to fitness school alongside his two best friends and learn about his own body in ways he never thought possible. He would become a fitness expert and spend the rest of his life in constant movement. That was the dream. He would be able to make a living by running, stretching and swimming, what else could he have asked for?

The first few months at university had been wonderful. Sharing a dorm with Makoto had suited him just fine, after all, they had been friends since forever and no one understood him better. Nagisa had introduced them to his roommate shortly after, a tall, bespectacled freshman by the name of Rei pursuing a diploma in nutrition. They had become inseparable by the end of their first semester, sharing dreams of starting their own fitness club (with a spa, as demanded by Rei) and they would live happily ever after. Yes, that was definitely the dream. Those were the happiest years of his life.

But as those years went by, he realised their dreams really were nothing more than dreams. For starters, they were all broke by the time they graduated, and the fact that they were fresh out of school didn't make it any easier for them to find jobs in the city. It was Nagisa who provided the only solution to their problems, as one of his uncles owned a fitness club in a small provincial town in the south.

And that's how they all ended up working seven days a week as personal trainers at Iwatobi Fitness Club.

Here's the thing - it wasn't a bad gig at all. Sure, working hours were a bitch. They opened at 7 but only one of them was expected to arrive at that time to help with prepping the swimming pool, so they took it in turns while the rest arrived at 9. Then they all had basic duties to fulfil. Twenty-five hours a week of floor supervising, which was a lot. Personal training sessions were one hour each, they were in charge of designing a one-on-one training program for their clients and if they managed to sell more than 10 private sessions to a member, of if they had more than 3 sessions per day, then their floor supervising hours would be reduced to 15 weekly for as long as the sessions lasted. Of course none of them had ever managed as much. Floor supervising hours would accumulate and they would have to make up for them during their day off in order to fill their quota. They got an hour off at lunch and another at dinner, then the club would finally close down at 9.

Rei usually handled the morning yoga and spinning classes while Nagisa took over the dance lessons at night. Makoto was in charge of the boxing ring and usually supervised the weightlifting section as long as he wasn't training a member, in which case Haruka would take over. Haru generally supervised the swimming pool during peak hours, which was easily the most appealing aspect of his job to him. Unfortunately, that did not count as floor supervising, which meant he still had to spend at least 3 hours a day by the machines, and he'd still need to make up for the missing hours during his days off. And after the club closed down, they were all allowed to remain there for as long as they wanted and train to their heart's content.

Which had initially suited them well enough, but after the first 2 months they realised they were all too tired by the end of the day to do some extra training of their own. All except Haruka who would usually go back to the swimming pool and soak there until midnight.

During their first few months at Iwatobi they had all crashed at Nagisa's uncle's place - a tiny two bedroom apartment with an even tinier bathroom, which evidently, suited none. Once again, Nagisa was the one to provide a solution to their problems, convincing his grandmother (with help of his uncle) to let him use the old house by the hill where she had grown up in, and now served as a giant warehouse to keep years of accumulated junk from all her children. They held a garage sale and cleaned the place they now called home, it was a tiny two bedroom house on top of a hill and it smelled like mildew, but they didn't have to pay rent and, as months went by, it started looking more like home than their dorms at the university ever did. And Haruka loved it more than he let the others know.

The money wasn't bad either, they all had a basic salary and commissions from every private training session they managed to sell. Sure, they were clearly understaffed and they would sometimes find themselves doing more office hours than they initially expected - once they even had to take over cleaning duties for over a week when the janitor had his tonsils removed - but the general atmosphere, Haruka thought, was fantastic, clean and relatively quiet, he air smelled of disinfectant and deodorant and the people were friendly yet focused in their own business. It really was the only thing he ever pictured himself doing in his adult life.

Until the day_ he _arrived.

"Haru, are you even listening to me?" Makoto said Monday morning as they walked to the club.

In all honesty, Haru hadn't been listening at all. He had been worried about Kojima-san's bad ankle for the past few weeks, hoping the new routine he had designed for her would help her with her weight loss without putting too much strain on her ankle.

"Hmm?"

Makoto laughed heartily as he gently patted his friend on the back. "She'll be fine," he added as he adjusted his sunglasses. "I was just saying Sasabe's all worried about the new guy, wants us to make sure he's extra comfortable, apparently he's transferred all the way from Australia. He's Japanese though, so no worries about the language."

"Oh," Haru said blankly.

"Yeah," Makoto continued, "I heard he's really sought-after, can't imagine what brought him to Iwatobi but Sasabe was shy of doing backflips when he hired him. We really could use another hand at the club don't you think? Haru?"

Haruka had stopped as a particularly large cloud cleared away from the sun and the ocean caught its light. Makoto sighed and smiled as he put a hand over his friend's shoulder, gently directing him towards the club entrance.

"It'll be warm enough to swim in no time."

"My name is Rin Matsuoka, it's nice to meet you all."

They had called the entire staff to a meeting early Monday morning in order to introduce the new personal trainer, the aforementioned Rin Matsuoka, who politely bowed before them. Haruka could feel Nagisa's entire body positively shaking with enthusiasm to his right, and hear Rei's concerned tongue-clicking to his left. He took one glance at the man before him and he could not understand, for the life of him, what was so special about him. He had longish red hair tied back in a sloppy ponytail, he was wearing a black tracksuit with red stripes and his posture was definitely too lax for a fitness trainer. Sparing not another thought on his new colleague, he turned his gaze towards the window hoping to catch a glimpse of the ocean.

"It's nice meeting you, Matsuoka-san-" Makoto was the first to speak.

"Please, call me Rin," the redheaded interrupted with a wave of his hand.

"Oh, alright, Rin. I'm Makoto Tachibana, please call me Makoto. These guys are Nagisa Hazuki, Haruka Nanase and Rei Ryugazaki, we are the four full time employed trainers at the club." They all bowed as their names were mentioned and Rin acknowledged each with a nod.

"Over here we have Yunemura-san and Miyasaka-san, they are in charge of the front desk," he said as he motioned to two young guys wearing suits. "And well, you know coach Sasabe of course, our manager."

"It's great having you here, my boy!" Sasabe took a step forwards and clapped a heavy hand over Rin's back who let out a bark-like laugh as he scratched the back of his head.

"It's cool, thanks for having me," he said in the most unaffected tone Haruka had ever heard, and he found it extremely annoying.

It took about two more seconds of relative calm before Nagisa outright squealed and launched himself forwards, positively trapping Rin in a tight hug around the waist before lifting him three feet off the ground with his hidden bear-like strength.

"Rin-chan!" he beamed, "I'm Nagisa, I do boot camp, zumba and aerobics! What do you do?"

"Nagisa-kun," Rei said quietly, "please don't scare him off just yet, we're severely understaffed at the moment."

Rin laughed heartily as he put an arm around Nagisa's shoulder, rubbing his knuckles over his blonde locks. "Feisty one, I see," he replied. "I do weightlifting, endurance, judo, boxing, cross fit, and swimming," he added as he counted them off with his fingers. "And you should see me dancing," he said with a wink.

Nagisa's delighted laughter rang throughout the entire club as he jumped up and down. "Amazing!"

_Annoying,_ thought Haruka.

"Rin here has got two years' experience working at Gold's Gym in Sydney, but he's been in Iwatobi for a few months already," said a beaming Sasabe. "And not only has he decided to join our team, which we are completely thrilled about, but he's also sold memberships to some of his regulars here at Iwatobi, which I'm even more thrilled about!" he said as he let out a loud chuckle. "You bunch of misfits should do well by learning a thing or two from this young man right here!"

Haruka's eyebrow twitched but nobody seemed to notice. He turned his head towards the redhead, admittedly catching everyone's attention and he bowed curtly.

"Excuse me," he said as he walked away.

Rin seemed to be the only one caught off guard by Haruka's behaviour, raising both eyebrows and crossing his arms over his chest, chuckling incredulously.

"That's Haru," said Makoto, as if that explained the whole thing. "Let's go downstairs to introduce you to the cleaning staff."

"Right."

Kojima-san arrived at 10 am. She had been swimming with Haruka for the past six months right after her ankle surgery, and she had made an impressive recovery. It had only been a couple of weeks since he decided to change up her routine, adding a bit of walking and strength exercises, which initially had worked like magic, until the pain came back, so now she was a bit skeptic about working out with weights, wishing she'd just be able to return to the pool. Truth be told, Haruka wasn't particularly fond of coaching Kojima-san in the swimming pool, he was never really good at it, losing patience quickly and wanting to be done with it all just so he could have some time alone to soak on his own. However, being a professional, he managed.

"I just don't understand why we can't just go swimming," she'd said that same morning as they walked upstairs to the cardio area.

"We need to strengthen your ankle, even if it's little by little," answered Haruka politely. "We are going to try something different today, don't worry. I won't have you running marathons just yet," he added pleasantly.

Kojima-san laughed heartily as she leaned onto Haruka's arm while walking up the last few steps.

"Just don't tell my son, he's been most insistent I return to the pool. Frankly, what I really want is for the weather to be warm enough for a picnic at the beach, with lots of ice-cream," she said childishly, making Haruka smile in spite of himself.

"Then Rei will have my head," he replied, thinking of the gluten-free diet Rei had prescribed.

"Oh, that man," she chuckled. "At my age, you need to enjoy the little things as much as you can." Haruka nodded pointedly, silently letting her know he agreed.

"And you, my dear, when are you going to find yourself a nice girl and enjoy those little things?" she asked mischievously as she patted his arm. "I've told you about my niece Harue, haven't I? Lovely young girl, just started a new job in advertising. You two would make a sweet couple."

Haruka blew air out his nose in amusement. She _had_ mentioned her at least a dozen times before, and just as if she had been speaking a different language, he nodded and politely replied with a curt nod.

"Oh, boys these days," she added dismissively.

As they reached the second floor landing they were met with Nagisa's raucous laughter and a sight Haruka had only seen a few times in his life. A young guy with impossibly silver hair, probably around 18 or 19 years old, was planking on 6 inch steppers - fingers and toes grabbing onto the steppers as if his life depended on it, which probably did, since he also had to balance a whole Rin Matsuoka on his back.

"Ten seconds, Nitori! Anyone can do anything for ten goddamn seconds!" yelled the redhead as he balanced himself over his student's back, knees and palms digging into the kid underneath. Nitori let out a raw scream, digging strength from somewhere deep within.

"Do NOT bend your knees!" Rin yelled, "Your knees belong to me and you are not allowed to bend them! Think! Think Nitori! Do you want to be WEAK? Do you? Well, do you?!"

Haru heard a feeble 'no' coming from the kid but then again, he wasn't sure if he heard him or he just assumed it by the way the kid scrunched up his face and mouthed something that looked like 'no.'

"Oh my," Kojima-san interjected, covering her mouth with her free hand.

"Five! Four! Th- NO! Do NOT bend your knees!" yelled the redhead, as the silver haired teen tumbled over and his knees hit the floor. Rin's hands and feet were on the ground before Nitori's entire body collapsed over the mat, effectively avoiding hurting the teen with his added weight, but as he stood up and hovered over the kid, he looked absolutely livid.

"Get up," he commanded, ignoring Nagisa's laughter-turned-gasp and Nitori's slight whimpering. "Get up, you weakling."

As the kid got on his feet, Rin started walking a slow circle around him, eyeing him as if he were looking at rotten fish. Haruka's eyebrow twitched and he felt a sudden rush of anger wash over him, an overwhelming wave of adrenaline that screamed 'protect' and resounded all over his brain. _Unnecessary, _his mind screamed. _Cruel. _

Nitori was beginning to catch his breath and to everyone's surprise, met Rin's eyes the moment he stood before him, holding his gaze as if he were defying him, his chest heaving with something that had nothing to do with physical exhaustion.

"You're angry," said Rin, it wasn't a question. "You're not tired. You're angry. You're disappointed," his tone cold. "You know you're weak. I know you're weak. Now _they_ know you're weak," he added as he gestured around to Nagisa, Haruka and Kojima-san. Nitori closed his eyes and bit his lower lip. Haruka's blood ran colder by the second until a firm hold around his arm forced him to open his eyes he didn't realise he'd closed. Kojima-san patted him reassuringly on the arm, meeting his eyes with a _look. _

"Feel it, feel that anger. Take it in you. Push it into your veins. _Concentrate," _he added, almost like a whisper. "That burn, that heat, take it. Pump it into your weak body and feel the strength fill you up until you _can't take it, _then get back in plank position and show me what you can do!" he finished by yelling at the top of his voice, getting the attention of everyone at the gym who hadn't been paying attention. "You owe me five seconds of raw strength!" and Haruka thought that last screech was positively the most annoying thing he'd heard his entire life, making a mental note that apparently, his new colleague sucked at math.

Another pat on his arm got him out of his reverie as Kojima-san pulled him away towards the stretching area.

"I think my time started a good two minutes ago, Haru-chan," she said pleasantly. Haruka took a second to regain his mind and nodded, and even though he knew Kojima-san didn't need the support of his arm anymore, they both knew he did.

"That's right! Until you bleed!" Rin's screams faded into the background, mixed with the sounds of weights, treadmills and Haruka's own will to block him out as he walked Kojima-san to the mat-padded area on the other side of the floor.

Haruka had spent a good three days planning Kojima-san's session for the day. He had spent a whole day working out the perfect way to strengthen her muscles with only a couple of dumbbells and a stepper, then spent two more days slaying over which stretching exercises would optimise her routine and prep her for her cardio without putting too much stress anywhere below her waist. She was his most loyal and oldest client, and admittedly, he had taken a liking to her, reminded him of his late grandmother. He even had a nightmare last tuesday about the routine going wrong, Kojima-san's son mourning over his mother's corpse, squashed under a giant massage roller - _I told you she should have gone back to the swimming pool - _he screamed, pointing an accusatory finger at him. He'd calculated every single detail as he rode away his concerns the following morning, making sure that nothing, _nothing, _would go wrong.

And yet, as he coached Kojima-san through a series of particularly stressing stretching exercises, he cursed himself for not taking into consideration external factors.

"Get your boney ass back on the treadmill and do NOT grip the handles!" Matsuoka's voice rang throughout the walls.

"Are you _fucking_ with me, or is _that_ supposed to be a jab?"

"Your sister called, she wants her lipstick back, oh, is that blood? I'm sorry, I couldn't tell over all the _whining!"_

By the time Kojima-san's time was up, Haruka was sweating profusely and his hands balled into fists instinctively with every passing minute. He hadn't been completely focused on his client and _that_ was unacceptable in all standards. Grudgingly, he flipped open his binder and handed a pen to Kojima-san for her to sign her name, _25 sessions done, 5 more to go. _

The entire floor had gone pleasantly quiet as apparently, Rin's own session with his client had started only a few minutes before Haru's, and was now finished. He'd spotted them sprawled over the stretching mats just a few minutes after Kojima-san had waved him goodbye.

_"Makoto," _he unconsciously screened the floor for his best friend, hoping to find him by the boxing ring and just feed off his soothing energy. There he was, in the midst of a session - they must have gone overtime - with a new member eager to train. He turned on his heels hoping to see Rei, or at least Nagisa, on their posts by the cardio machines, maybe they had already started their floor supervising hours, but no luck. Nobody around to offer any sort of distraction whatsoever from the pressing matter of Bullying Matsuoka roaming around his turf and disrupting his peace of mind. Nothing, but the office.

Haru stifled a groan as he cracked his neck and headed towards the cramped little office, readying himself to spend the next hour or so in front of a computer screen and filling up about a ton of files he had put off working on.

As he reached the office, he unlocked his personal drawer, hand hovering over a bottle of Aspirine before changing his mind and grabbing a packet of mints that he always kept for specially tiring sessions since they tended to remind him of chewing ice. Somehow that worked on him just as well without making him feel sluggish.

"Yo," a not-entirely unfamiliar voice called from the doorway.

Haruka spared him a second's glance before decidedly looking away and typing his password on the keyboard as he munched on his gum, hoping the intruder would just take the hint.

But no luck.

Rin Matsuoka positively strutted into the office as if he had been a guest of honour at an award ceremony, taking a seat on the Pilates ball that had been mysteriously placed in the office (Nagisa's doing, Haru was sure) and rolling his back until he was completely arched over it.

"You're Haru, right?"

Silence. _You're annoying. _

"You don't talk much, do you?"

Typing. _You're talking again. _

"S'okay if you're shy and all but I don't bite, you know?"

Typing, insistently. _Annoying. You don't exist. _

"Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof," Rin said tentatively.

Haru rolled his eyes and sighed in despair, hoping Makoto would just miraculously walk into the office.

Rin rolled back into a sitting position and took a deep breath, raising a finger over his face.

"You know, you-"

"Matsuoka-senpai," the completely unfamiliar voice caught Haruka off guard, forcing his gaze towards the doorway where a freshly showered Nitori stood, one hand behind his back and the other scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Nitori," Rin got on his feet like a spring.

At that moment, Haruka took a deep breath, readying himself to take the kid's side at a second's notice and finally put this condescending bastard in his place, when suddenly the kid took a deep bow before his new colleague, cheeks flushed and hands fisted into tiny little balls.

"Thank you," he said as steadily as he could muster, although his entire frame was slightly shaking, and Haru couldn't blame him, if his workout had been as hard as he had heard. "For everything."

Taking him entirely by surprise, Haru recoiled momentarily before reminding himself he wasn't supposed to be a part of this conversation, and turned his head back to the computer screen.

Laugher. Good willed, honest laughter rang throughout the office as Rin took a few steps towards the doorway and clapped a hand over Nitori's back.

"You," said Rin "are a monster, and one day you will give your family a run for their money. And kick my ass on the way."

Nitori giggled sheepishly, massaging his sore shoulders.

"See you next week, Matsuoka-senpai. Congratulations on the new job!" he beamed as he waved a hand and walked away.

Rin waved back for a good five seconds, sighing audibly once Nitori was out of sight and turning on his heels to face a seemingly uninterested Haruka, who was typing a bit too loudly for his own liking.

"That's Nitori," he explained unnecessarily.

"Oh," replied Haruka nonchalantly.

"Yeah," Rin said as he stretched his arms over his head, sitting back down on the Pilates ball. "He's a fury, isn't he?"

Haruka ignored the question as he began typing in his floor supervising hours of the past month.

"You really don't talk much, do you?" he asked as he stifled a chuckle.

"No," Haru replied acidly.

"Touchy," Rin said in a sing-song voice. "I don't' mind. The less you talk, the more you listen."

Haru gritted his teeth, hoping he had gone for the Aspirin instead of the mint.

"Tell you what," said Rin as he stood up for the second time. "Let's go for a swim after we close down. I heard you're a mean swimmer. We'll race, if you win, I promise I'll stop bugging you on purpose for an entire week, and in the off-chance that I lose, you'll… um, you'll tell me your favourite ice-cream flavour, how's that?"

He'd had enough. Twice he had typed in the wrong numbers as he listened to Matsuoka rambling on about god-knows-what and never had he, except a few nights of drunken experimentation on campus, wished Makoto had been there from the beginning. Haruka wheeled the chair around to face his new colleague and looked him straight in the eye.

"I only swim free," he deadpanned.

Rin didn't even flinch, instead he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, a gesture Haruka had witnessed already twice on the same day. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Haruka took a deep breath and was about to go out of his way and answer his question when a worked-up Miyasaka-san from the front desk hurriedly knocked on the door as he regained his breath. _Seriously, _Haru thought, _the front desk is downstairs. _

"Nanase-san," he hesitated as he looked at Rin, evidently trying to remember his name "I'm sorry, Matsuoka-san, yes? We have a potential new member downstairs, she's asking about the facilities and wants to take a look at the gym," he paused, "I think."

Haruka stood up from his chair and took two steps forward.

"What do you mean 'you think'?" he asked.

"Well, she…" he hesitated for a second, face growing paler by the second, "she doesn't speak much Japanese. I can't speak English and I've got Yunemura stalling her while, well, Ryugazaki speaks decent English doesn't he?" he asked almost frantically.

_Shit. _Haruka wasn't exactly a talkative person, but he damn well knew how to sell a membership to a new customer. As long as it was in Japanese. He hadn't exactly thrived in his English lessons in the past, neither had Makoto or Nagisa, Rei fortunately had managed to coach them enough to pass their final examinations, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"I'll handle it," Rin suddenly spoke from the side, hands in his pockets and as comfortable as if he had been deciding which movie to watch on his day off.

"M-Matsuoka-san, you speak English?" asked Miyasaka incredulously, making Rin roll his eyes.

_"Dude,"_ Rin replied, emphasising the first syllable, waving his arms around as if it was the most evident thing in the world.

"Oh- oh, right! Australia… yes, yes! That'll do, please come with me," Miyasaka replied, relief evidently washing over his features and completely forgetting that Haruka was also in the room. They walked away leaving a dumbfounded and obviously disturbed Haru standing in the middle of the office, the computer beeping unpleasantly as an 'incorrect password' sign flashed over the screen.

"He's not _that _bad, Haru-chan," Makoto's laughter rang like cool rain on a hot summer day as they walked back home after an exhausting day at work.

Haru gave him a look before pointedly turning his gaze back towards the ocean.

"He's annoying," he added for good measure.

Makoto's laugher died after a few seconds and then took a deep breath, sighing contentedly.

"He sold ten sessions today," he almost whispered, his tone bordering in admiration. "Sasabe said he's buying him champagne for dinner."

"He speaks English," Haru said dismissively.

"So does Rei, and he's never managed as much."

Silence reigned for a few minutes as they reached the road that led to the hilltop where their little house was located.

"I'm just saying, don't make him out to be as bad as he seems. Sure, he's loud and a little bit cocky, but he's got a stack of recommendation letters that would even make you gasp and alright, his methods are a bit _foreign_ but well, let's see how it all unfurls, it's only his first day."

Haruka sighed, stepping up his pace and hoping Nagisa didn't make a mess in the bathroom. A long bath was exactly what he needed.

"Rei's closing today," Haruka asked without actually having to ask the question.

"Yup, he's showing Rin how to do it for next time," Makoto replied.

"Ready to go?" asked Rei as he adjusted the strap on his backpack.

Rin stood by the already covered swimming pool, gazing at the surface as if he was expecting something to break the plastic bubble wrap surface. He sighed inaudibly and turned around, smiling broadly.

"Yeah."


	2. Of course, but maybe

"I'm not going," came Haruka's muffled voice from under his pillow. Makoto stood up hovering above him, a steaming cup of coffee on his right hand. He stifled a sigh but couldn't stop himself from chuckling.

"Honestly, Haru," he began, "you know how much coach Sasabe hates it when we're late."

"I'm sick," the dark haired trainer replied curtly, not moving a muscle.

Taking a seat on the floor by his friend's futon, Makoto set the cup down and began rocking himself back and forth playfully.

"Is this because of Rin?"

No response.

"Is this because of Rin being loud?"

Still no response.

"Is this because of Rin being loud and over the top and the fact that everyone likes him and that he seems to have made it his life's sole purpose to make you swim with him?"

Haru's eyebrow twitched even though Makoto couldn't see it.

Rin's first week at Iwatobi Fitness Club brought about several changes to the table. For starters, after only two days, he redhead had managed to establish himself as some sort of team leader, reorganising class schedules and giving little motivational speeches to the staff every morning. Suddenly their schedules seemed not as clustered as before, earning the trainers an extra free hour that they would have otherwise spent running up and down during peak hours. Haruka decided to attribute it to the fact that they had an extra pair of hands helping out, as opposed to praising Rin's organisational skills.

On his third day Rin contacted a small vegan cafe that had just opened a few weeks prior and managed to secure the entire staff a healthy supply of gluten-free snacks for an entire week in exchange for letting them give out a few flyers outside the facilities. Sasabe had been hesitant at first but all his doubts dissipated the second he tried their oatmeal cookies. Haruka decided sweet treats weren't his cup of tea no matter how many arguments Rei did on their behalf.

On his fourth and fifth day Rin took it upon himself to give maintenance to the almost completely abandoned tennis court on the roof, claiming that with the good weather approaching, there were bound to be lots of people looking to renting the space or even buying a few tennis classes. He didn't miss a single appointment with his own clients and he filled his quota of floor supervising hours without a single problem. After two days, the tennis court was as good as new and Haruka decided tennis was stupid.

On his sixth day Rin's new foreign client arrived for her first training session and it was all Haru could do not to jump out the window in frustration as he had to suffer an entire hour of English spoken at the top of their voices, as well as the rest of the staff praising his language skills for the rest of the day. It didn't help that Rei had asked him for a little help with his own English and Rin decided it would be a great idea and incredibly beneficial for the club if they all got together an hour a week for a little tutoring.

But all of that, Haru could handle. All he had to do was look the other way whenever they crossed paths and politely refuse to participate in any group activity.

Except just like Makoto blatantly pointed out, Rin wouldn't let him.

_"The cookies are great, but if you swim with me I'll buy you lunch for a month!" _

_"Tennis is nothing compared to swimming, right Nanase? Yo, Nanase, I'm talking to you. Earth to Nanase. Hey, can I call you Haru, Haru?"_

_"Ugh, I'm so tired I could just fall asleep standing up. I think a hot bath is in order. Or maybe… Anybody up for a swim? Haru?" _

_"Of course surfing doesn't come naturally to just everybody, its not like swimming, right? Even new born babies can swim, how old were you when you started swimming Haru? Me I was _born_ in the water, can you believe that?" _

A violent shiver ran down Haru's spine as he recollected Rin's attempts at engaging him in conversation, trying to coax him into swimming with him. He had been wondering throughout the entire week what was the exact reason this new guy was bothering him so much. Of course, Haruka was never an exceedingly sociable person, but he damn well knew how to behave himself around strangers, it was his job to sell himself as a professional trainer and despite all his social shortcomings, he had been doing a pretty good job up until then. He had dealt with bullies and assholes in the past, he knew how to look the other way. He wasn't a stranger to different ways of encouraging someone, including the more _outgoing_ ways such as screaming like a lunatic and waving your arms about like an insane person. He knew how to keep his cool no matter what. Why was it so hard to do now? If he knew the answer to that, he refused to voice it out loud.

Haruka turned over on his back, catching a glimpse of Makoto's knowing eyes studying his features before dramatically draping an arm over his face.

"Maybe I've been too indulgent with you in the past," Makoto's voice broke the silence, seemingly talking to himself but making Haru grimace nonetheless. "Remember how I pretended to be your boyfriend just so Akiko-chan would stop hitting on you back in high school?" he added, making Haru snort in spite of himself.

"_That, _served two purposes and you know it," Haru responded immediately, reminding his friend that it also kept Bertha, the exchange student, from filling his locker room with love letters written in bad Japanese.

"How I took over your cleaning duties back in school just so you could have some extra time to swim?" Makoto insisted.

"Too bothersome," Haru mumbled in return.

"How I've been doing all the Christmas shopping for both our families and friends and still write your name on all the cards?"

"I pay for half of everything."

Makoto sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

"The point is, I don't think I've been doing you any good you know? You've learned to rely on me no matter what and _of course_ you can rely on me no matter what, but I'm starting to think this has made you a bit…" he hesitated for a moment, catching Haru's eye. "Selfish."

Haruka sat up as calmly as humanly possible although he could feel his heart racing. He turned to face his friend, crossing his legs and snatching up the cup of coffee in the most nonchalant way he could muster.

"How so?" he questioned, thankful he could keep the steadiness in his voice.

"Well, you know we really like the guy, don't you?" Makoto asked cautiously, as if he had said a really bad word. Haruka nodded as he sipped on his coffee.

"And I also know he's found an unprecedented way to annoy you, right?"

"Right."

"And this has sort of made everyone feel like they have to limit their excitement out of some weird feeling of solidarity to you, at least when you're present." Makoto suddenly raised his palms defensively as his friend took a deep breath to retaliate. "I'm not saying you asked us to or anything," he cut in before Haru had a chance to speak. "It's just, well honestly Haru, the guy's obviously trying _really_hard to get to know you a little bit and you're clearly not giving him a chance, it's sad. And it's really bumming everyone out."

Haru's eyes widened at that last statement, instinctively clutching onto his futon. They remained silent for a few seconds during which Haru apparently forgot how to breathe.

"… I'm sorry," the dark haired trainer whispered in turn, catching his friend's eye for a second before looking back down at the mug before him. "I just don't know why he bothers me so much," he added as an afterthought. After a long pause Haruka ventured another look at his friend as he took another sip of coffee, wondering why he hadn't yet received an answer. He was meet with an eerie smile that spoke volumes.

"Remember coach Sato?" the green eyed asked mischievously, making Haru choke on his drink and spill coffee all over himself. His face had lit up like a christmas tree within two seconds and he seriously considered plopping back down on his futon and hiding under his pillow for the rest of his life.

"W-Why are you bringing _him_ up?" he asked breathlessly, but all he got was a wink in return.

"Think about it," he said as he stood up. "We're leaving in 10 minutes, no time to take a bath I'm afraid. We'll catch breakfast on the way," he said as he practically strutted out of the room.

Coach Sato had been their junior high school swimming coach and the only person who had ever made Haruka blush, partly because of admiration and partly because, well. It wasn't like he had come out of the closet at age 15, it was more like he had become aware of the fact that he wasn't any more interested in women than he was in men.

So was that it, then? Did Makoto just imply that maybe the reason why he found it intolerably hard to be around Rin was because he was _attracted_ to him?

Was there _anything _remotely attractive about him?

**Yes, **his traitor of a brain replied instantly. A full body image of his new co-worker appeared in the back of his mind and he took a few seconds to eye him down. _Tall, toned, tanned-_ his subconscious began taking notes as his mind's eye scanned him from head to foot. _Handsome._

"Ugh," he grunted as he fumbled for his phone.

_'I _hate_ you' _read the message he texted his best friend.

They made it to the club barely on time because of Haru's insistence on making some toast before leaving. During their jog down the hill towards the club Haru had made some serious decisions regarding his problem at hand, running so fast that Makoto had actual problems keeping up.

As they arrived, breathless from their sprint and holding their toast between their teeth, they quickly waved hello to Yunemura at the front desk before rushing to the office to punch in their time cards.

"Remind me never to upset you again before work," Makoto wheezed as he took a seat on the pilates ball in the office.

"You need to go prep the spinning room," Haruka pointed out calmly while pointing a finger at the white board Rin had scribbled all over. Makoto turned instinctively and slapped a hand over his eyes, sighing loudly before running out of the room.

Haru smiled victoriously as he unlocked his personal drawer.

_Only one way to find out, _he told himself.

It was something he had heard Rei talk about once on their first semester at University during a random frat party they had crashed, and for some reason, it had stuck in Haruka's memory despite how wasted he had gotten that night. He had also not been able to stop thinking about it since early that morning. Some girl, Haru couldn't remember her name, had made a point about Rei being way too uptight, evidently trying to coax him into drinking with her while being, perhaps unconsciously, extremely rude to Nagisa, who had been awkwardly sitting next to Rei as she continued to chat him up. It appeared she had been the only person at that party unaware of Rei's homosexuality and the fact that he had asked Nagisa out on their first date that day, but the bespectacled freshman had decided to let it slip by, taking the opportunity to, as he so shamelessly put it the following day, 'educate the ignorant.'

"It's a theory I'm working on that I like to call '_Of course, but maybe,'_ Haruka recollected his friend saying, getting the attention of everyone sitting around the table.

"Imagine two little figures hovering over your left and right shoulder, an angel and devil versions of yourselves if you will. Only, the little angel doesn't represent the good and the little devil doesn't represent the bad. Instead, the angel represents your actual thoughts, the thoughts you would proudly sign your name on. The devil, of course, represents the thoughts that you do not, _by all means_, endorse, but they're still there, those awful thoughts that make you go: 'Thank God I don't think like that,' and yet, they're still there, and you are still thinking them. The little angel will _of course_ speak on behalf of your common sense, morality and better judgement. _Of course_ drinking alcohol is wrong. _Of course_ doing drugs is wrong. _But maybe,_ the little devil intervenes, one shouldn't be too quick to judge. Bottoms up!" And they all drank between cheers and chuckles.

"_Of course _skipping classes will have an effect on your performance at school. _Of course_ staying up late every night partying with your friends will lead you to attaching less importance to your education. _But maybe, _higher education is just for uptight pussies, am I right fellas?" and Haru vaguely remembers more cheering and the clinking sound of glasses.

_"Of course_ rape is bad," Rei continued and silence suddenly reigned all around them. "_Of course_ rape, no matter where, no matter when, is the most devastating thing in the world. _But maybe_," Haruka remembered staring at his friend as if he had met him for the first time, "There wouldn't be so many regulations protecting victims and laws punishing the criminals if there hadn't been so many cases of rape all throughout history."

"_Of course_ one should be tolerant towards other people's beliefs no matter what. _Of course_, one should tolerate other people's political, religious or social views, _of course_. _Of course_ one should tolerate other people's sexual orientation, _of course. But maybe_, maybe there are some racist, condescending, homophobic assholes out there who should really be put in their place from time to time. _Of course_ there will always be a hot girl or a hot jock who think of themselves as the best of the best and how _dare_ anyone refuse their advances and _of course_ we have to be patient with them. _But maybe,"_ and this is when Rei took off his glasses and stared at the horrified looking girl sitting next to him, "_maybe _sometimes they really need to be told to _fuck off."_

It might have been the alcohol or it might have been Nagisa's raucous laughter that followed but something definitely triggered something in Haruka's brain, saving this particular memory alongside Haruka's most precious ones. After several hours of not being able to stop thinking about it, he finally made sense of why.

His brain had been sticking to the of course. Of course he'd be bothered by a new guy messing with his routine. Of course he'd find someone who was loud and obnoxious as a blatant threat to his peaceful existence. Of course he didn't want things to change considering how comfortable he had become in this new little town, with his new little job. Of course.

But maybe, he was just a sucker for good looks.

That was as far as he let his little devil elaborate.

It was noon when the vegan cafe delivered their freshly baked batch of whole wheat and macadamia nut cookies, only this time Haru didn't take the opportunity to slip by the front desk and head towards the convenience store across the street. Instead, he joined the rest of the trainers in the office and snatched a cookie right off Rin's hand, earning puzzled glances from everyone except Makoto, who began choking on his own cookie.

"Ha-" Rin was taken completely aback as he had been just about to bite down on his own treat.

Haruka turned his gaze upon him defiantly.

"Hungry," he deadpanned, turning around and walking right out of the office, heading downstairs.

It was Nagisa's laughter that pulled Rin out of his trance, turning towards the blonde and finding an accusatory finger pointed directly at him.

"Haru-chan likes you!" he squealed, bending over with laughter and repeatedly smacking the nearest surface, forgetting all about the cookie he had been about to wolf down.

"Hah?!" was all Rin could muster in response, face lit up like a neon marquee with half the letters missing.

Despite the fact that Haruka had been all in for digging a little bit deeper into his so-called attraction to his new co-worker, things weren't looking good for the recently returned redhead.

After lunch, Nitori had returned for another training session with Rin. Needless to say, that had left Haruka with a very, very bad taste in his mouth.

"Are you telling me you didn't follow your diet because it was your _mother's birthday?!_ What kind of pathetic, lame, ridiculous excuse is that?!"

"If you can find the time to download a bunch of songs into your iPod, you sure can find the time to do some push-ups and it does _not_ look like you've lifted your scrawny ass off the couch all week long!"

"Just do me a favour and tell me your secret ambition is to become a ballet dancer, how is _that_ a right hook, enlighten me!"

_If I'm attracted to someone like _that, _I better take up on Kojima-san's offer to meet her niece, _were Haruka's thoughts as he overfilled his water bottle at the drinking fountain. _Definitely not attractive enough._

At about 7 pm the entire floor was deserted. Makoto had taken his extra free hour as an opportunity to head out and grab everyone some decent bento from a small family restaurant down the road. Nagisa was just about to finish his zumba class and Rei was getting some paperwork done in the office. Haruka decided it was time to finally face the fact that he might actually be attracted to his new co-worker by starting up a conversation with him on his own account.

He had just finished folding the yoga mats and was now standing right in the middle of the stretching area looking for a certain redhead when Miyasaka from the front desk suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

"Nanase-san," the younger staff member began, getting Haruka's attention. "We're ready for you."

"Ready for what?" Haru asked as he lifted an eyebrow.

"Well, according to Matsuoka-san's new schedule, you're supposed to take care of this month's inventory today. We already left the forms ready at the reception area so, whenever you're ready," Miyasaka grinned, unable to hide his relief-bordering-on-mischief from his face.

Right. Haruka had completely forgotten.

_Definitely not attractive enough. _He thought as he turned on his heels and unconsciously began counting the yoga mats he had just finished folding.

One hour later Haruka found himself hunched over a small table in the reception area, calculator in hand, filling up the inventory forms while thinking of the wonderful mackerel bento Makoto had gotten for him waiting for him in the office, when the sound of a familiar voice made him scribble down the wrong number.

Rin had just walked into the reception area followed by a slightly overweight woman in her late thirties. He spared Haruka a second's glance before pulling back a chair for her to sit down, two tables down from where he presently sat.

"Please," he gestured towards the chair, taking the seat right next to her.

Haru pointedly looked back towards the paperwork before him while he ignored his racing heartbeat.

"As you can see, the club is fully equipped with all sorts of cardiovascular and strength machines that will not only help you meet your daily calorie burn, but will also strengthen and tone your muscles as you continue with your weight loss journey."

_Way too assumptions, _thought Haruka as he doodled across the borders of the page.

"I'm just… not sure," the young woman interjected, Haruka ventured a look and found her tugging at the ends of her cardigan.

"Listen," Rin interrupted, taking her hand on his own and making Haruka's eyes widen ever so slightly. "You need to realise something here, and you're more than welcome to slap me if you find me the slightest bit out of hand."

She giggled, effectively masking the sob that would have manifested had she not been granted the opportunity to disguise it.

"You have a pair of perfectly working legs and a pair of perfectly strong arms to match. You're a smart, self-sufficient woman and there is absolutely nothing wrong with you physically. The problem I see here is that you are not content with what you see, and that is fine. But you have to realise that you are perfect just the way you are. You are not physically impaired and that is something to be thankful for. You are perfectly capable of going on with your life without ever having the need to exercise regularly as a matter of life and death. That is something to be thankful for. And yet the smile in your face doesn't reach your eyes. This is the one thing that exercise can do for you. You already took the hardest step and admitted not only to yourself, but to me as well, that you want to change. Leave your bad habits behind and start a new life with a stronger focus on your body. That takes a lot more courage than you give yourself credit for."

Haruka felt his grasp tightening around his pencil as he eavesdropped in their conversation.

_He's just a good salesman, nothing more. This means nothing. _

The young woman sniffled and rubbed a hand over her eyes, chuckling as she slapped the redhead's shoulder.

"What are you doing to me, young man?" she asked, making Rin jolt back looking dramatically offended.

"I'm just saying!" he jumped in his own defence.

"Just get me that boy in the suit so I can buy the damn membership already," she giggled, digging in her purse for her reading glasses.

"If only everyone was as compliant as you," teased Rin as he stood up, barely ducking in time to avoid the pencil aimed directly at his head. He spared Haruka a second's glance before disappearing around the corner.

_Okay, so _maybe…

Haru would have slammed his face against the table had there not been people around.

Another twenty minutes went by before Amakata Miho, the newest club member, had finished all her paperwork, stood up and left, leaving only two people in the reception area. Ignoring the beating of his heart, Haruka pointedly refused to look up from his last form even though he could sense someone distinctly watching him two tables down.

"Yo," Rin spoke as he took a seat next to Haruka.

The raven haired trainer took his time to finish scribbling down the last few numbers before looking up and meeting his co-workers eyes. He was met by a version of Rin that he had never really seen before. Looking utterly exhausted and leaning back on the chair, the redhead seemed a few years older than Haru remembered.

"Hey," he replied.

"So I'm not invisible after all," Rin joked, chuckling humourlessly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Good to know."

Haru chewed on the inside of his cheek, leaning back on his chair and folding his arms over his chest.

"Sorry," he sighed, "for ignoring you, I guess."

Rin's eyes were closed but the toothy grin he gave Haruka made the raven haired trainer sit up straighter.

_But maybe… _

"S'okay. I guess I haven't been exactly easy on you either, sorry about that, Nanase."

"You can call me Haru," _Where did that come from? _Haruka mentally kicked himself. _Definitely not a crush. _

Rin's eyes sprang open but Haru managed to look away just in time.

"Well look at that," Rin spoke almost to himself, sounding a bit too cocky for Haru's liking. "That cookie must have been _good,"_ he joked.

_Of course I shouldn't be reaching to conclusions too soon, of course I should still be careful not to fall into the same old patterns. Of course I have to remember how easy it is to have one's heart and illusions broken by a childish infatuation. Of course I should behave like a professional, and maintain a professional relationship with my co-workers. Of course. _

_But maybe. _

_Maybe I need a dip in the pool to cool off. _

"Wanna go swim after we close down?" Haruka found himself asking in spite of himself.

Rin's eyes sparkled with unbridled glee if only for the second their eyes met.

"Of course," he replied.


End file.
